Porcine, All Too Porcine
by elisteran
Summary: Ryouga's life with Akari undergoes a slight transformation. (A bit dark)


Porcine, All Too Porcine  
  
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Disclaimer: The characters and back-story of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi.  
  
Ranma's image suddenly came into focus in the corner of Ryouga's eye. Ryouga jerked his head up, cursing. "Damn you, Ranma, stay out of my life!" Rapidly yanking the key out of the tractor he was driving, Ryouga grabbed his umbrella in his right hand and rolled out the side of tractor cab opposite Ranma's menacing figure. Frantically yanking bandannas from his hair with his free hand, Ryouga tossed them in the air, forming a spinning barricade against his foe. Maybe he'd get a lucky hit in.  
  
A few of the projectiles sliced through the metal framework of Ryouga's vehicle, but the rest could be seen flying off in the air, knocked off course by Ranma's skillful blows. Soon enough -- too soon, before Ryouga had time to fully catch his bearings and settle into a combat mindset -- the figure of Ryouga's dark-haired nemesis was visible in the air above the tractor.  
  
Ryouga thrust his umbrella like a sword towards Ranma, still in the air and thus with limited ability to dodge. Ranma's face grimaced as he miraculously folded his body in mid-air around the umbrella; but Ryouga had been diving even as he thrust, catching himself on the ground with one hand and arcing his powerful legs in a crushing kick into Ranma's now horizontal ribs. With nothing to grab onto, up in the air, Ranma was sent flying back twenty feet, to land in the freshly furrowed field behind the tractor.  
  
Ryouga was already on his feet, running towards Ranma's body, hoping to end the fight while it was still winnable. Unfortunately, Ranma was on his feet; and Ryouga nearly cringed when he recognized the stance.   
  
"You thought you could beat me, pig boy? You'll never beat me. You can't even hit me from there, and I've got my ... MOUKO TAKABISHA!" The so-called "fierce tiger bullet", a technique Ranma had developed in desperation only by shamelessly adapting one of Ryouga's own attacks, one more ultimate sign of Ranma's perfidy, roared by, missing Ryouga only due to the Hibiki scion's timely ducking under the nearby tractor.  
  
'How I hate you, Ranma,' Ryouga thought viciously. 'You know ever since I married Akari, I've been too content to summon my own Shi Shi Houkoudon." Ryouga's "roaring lion bullet" was the technique Ranma had stolen, a manifestation of chi that could be propelled at his foes. But it required a particular mindset, one raging against the limitations imposed by the natural world and an indescribable fury at how it could torment a man, isolating his every weakness and turning his triumphs into tragedy.  
  
As Ryouga thought that, his mind fell back on the disappointments of this last year. The long hours of backbreaking work, the discovery that Akari was infertile, mortgaging the farm to afford fertility treatments, the attendant increase in work, Akari's growing distance from him and preoccupation with her heritage...  
  
Ryouga stood up. "Ranma, " he began, menacingly quiet. "Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!" Black energy crackled around Ryouga, ascending into the sky, perhaps the tallest pillar Ryouga had ever created. "Ultimate Shishi Houkoudan!" Ryouga cried, pouring his soul into it....  
  
"Ryouga, honey! What's wrong?" Akari's worried face appeared in Ryouga's blurred vision, as he blinked in surprise, his eyes feeling leaden in the cool dark room. "Are you having a nightmare?"  
  
"Akari... wha?"  
  
"Shh, honey, you'll wake the pigs. Whatever it was, it's all right. It's all right, it was only a dream..." Akari's cool voice was a salve to Ryouga's irritation, grounding him as he came back to reality.   
  
"Oh, right. I guess it was just a nightmare, after all..." Ryouga felt relieved. But also guilty. His life wasn't so horrible... why had he dreamt of fighting his worst enemy, of channelling bonecrushing depression and rage into a final, fatal strike. He had his Akari by his side, the best sumo pigs in all of Japan, and a prosperous farm. He hadn't even seen Ranma in years, their last fight over Akane having probably permanently sundered their friendship. On the other hand, Ryouga didn't have a lot of time to go visit his friends or family, nowadays. So he didn't even know what Ranma or Akane thought of him, not really.  
  
"Now, don't go back to bed. You've got to go out and finish that field before tomorrow, when the banker comes."  
  
Ryouga groaned. Turning over, he could see the cool luminescence of a digital alarm clock. "Come on, Akari, I just came to bed 2 hours ago."  
  
"A farmer's life is rarely easy, Ryouga." Akari's voice held a hint of disapproval -- she rarely showed more, but it was clear she was disappointed at Ryouga's laziness.   
  
"No, Akari, I didn't mean it like that. I just... Oh forget it." Ryouga climbed out of bed, the night air just making him feel worse about leaving the side of his beloved wife. He pulled on a pair of coveralls, and a straw hat. When the sun rose in a few hours, it was likely to prove a hot day, particularly if he had to spend all day out there as he had every other day this week.  
  
"I'll... I'll finish the field by tomorrow, Akari. Don't worry... I won't let you down!" Ryouga desperately promised, hoping he'd have enough strength to make good on his word.   
  
"Ryouga... I know this is hard on you. But if we don't have something to show the banker, he's said he'll foreclose; and I can't bear to be the first Unryuu in 10 generations to lose any part of this farm. Even if..." Akari trailed off, obviously reluctant to go further.  
  
He tried to force himself into an unfamiliar optimism. "Don't worry, Akari. After this, we'll go to another clinic. We'll have a family yet."   
  
"Of course, dear husband. But there are other things we may need the money for, first. We will discuss this when the time comes. Now, go work hard; I will bring you your breakfast at sunrise."  
  
- * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - *  
  
"I'm finished! A day early, and I'm finished!" Ryouga was ecstatic. The sun had fallen only a few hours ago, but the large field, visible only under the light of the halogen lamps attached to the tractor, was finally finished. "Ha ha! Ha ha ha! Take that, Mr. Yashiro!"   
  
"What's that, Mr. Hibiki?"   
  
Ryouga pulled up short, startled, at the urbane, polished, condescending voice coming out of the darkness. Now that he was alerted, even in his fatigue the speck of a lantern approaching his position was obvious.   
  
"Hello, dear." Akari at the end of a long day was enough to take anybody's breath away. Her hair was lying loose across her shoulders, and she looked slightly nervous. "Mr. Yashiro came a bit early, so I was just showing him around the farm for a bit before he inspected the field. You... you didn't find any last-minute issues when you came out today to look it over, did you?"  
  
Ryouga nodded slightly at her, appreciating her desire to show no weakness, and giving her as much reassurance as possible.  
  
"Yes, well, our contract did specify November 19th, and while normally we might wait until later in the day, well... I thought it best to put this behind us as soon as possible. I know you weren't looking forward to the inspection, so I'm sure you agree that's best, yes?" Not pausing, the banker lifted his lantern and began peering around the field.  
  
"Ah, so you did finish the plowing and planting. And this is an entirely new field you've cleared?" There was a barely perceptible note in his inflection, clearly implying that they were lying degenerate scum intent on ripping off his bank, but maintaining his tone of affable civility.  
  
"Yes!" Akari snapped, then flushed pink in embarrassment. "I mean, yes, it's exactly as we agreed to in our loan agreement. One cleared new field, and we'll have a new generation of prize-winning pigs within one year." She ran to keep up with Mr. Yashiro's pacing the field bounds, while Ryouga trailed behind helplessly, feeling too drained for any real reaction.  
  
"Of course you will. Well, the problems with this field aren't visible now, so I suppose I shall have to mark this phase as satisfactory."  
  
"Satisfactory? Just satisfactory?" Ryouga did manage to drag up a few wisps of offended pride at that. "That's just barely passing! There's nothing wrong with this field! It's perfect! It's great! It'll produce as much as the next two farms' fields! No, three!"  
  
"Shall I mark that down as a promise?" Mr. Yashiro had whipped out a pen and tablet faster than Ryouga's eyes could follow. Then he restored them to ... wherever they had come from. "But no, a contract is a contract, no matter how you tricked this fine bank into committing to one with you. As long as you meet the given goals satisfactorily, your farm is safe. If you fail even one, why, I suppose I would have to negotiate a mutually agreeable compromise." A pause. "About how much the farm is worth split up amongst your neighbors."  
  
"You wouldn't!"   
  
"Oh, I would never fail to live up to a contract." Mr. Yashiro's eyes gleamed coldly. "But I'm sure you won't, either. You'll manage; I'm sure the rumors that your one boar Katsunishiki has not produced viable offspring in over a year are... exaggerated. And if they are, you can probably afford insemination fees, yes?"  
  
"Of course we'll meet your final inspection, with at least one viable prize-winning competition Sumo pig in our stables. That is what we agreed to." Akari's eyes were flint-like. "But your inspection is now done, is it not? So we'll have to ask you to leave; sometimes some of the more feral pigs come out at night, not yet trained to the formalities of sumo. Such as leaving their opponents alive. Come, Ryouga." Ryouga had come to Akari's shoulder, and was doing his best to loom menacingly in her support.  
  
Mr Yashiro's walk was somewhat less dignified, showing some signs of hurrying to leave the Unryuu farm before Akari and Ryouga made it back to the farmhouse. As he left the lights of the tractor, the lantern still held in his hand began to bob and weave, indicating that he had taken Akari's warning quite seriously.  
  
As they walked, Ryouga was content to droop, to slip his arm around Akari, and to let her take on the burden of navigating their way back to the house. He could just close his eyes and relax and ...  
  
With a start, Ryouga found himself being pushed inside the ring where they trained the pigs in the art of sumo. 'Great, I really need to get some sleep.' "Akari," he said aloud, "do you think you could bring me something to eat? I'm just going to wash up a little bit; I'm too tired to do anything else tonight."  
  
"Sure, in just a minute, honey." As Akari said this, Ryouga focused his bleary eyes on the other side of the ring, where Katsunishiki was standing, his now grizzled fur lending him a harsh dignity.  
  
Ryouga blinked, and then noticed that Katsunishiki was closer. "What's going on?"   
  
"I just need a sign, Ryouga. I need a sign that what I'm doing is right. Now, defend yourself."  
  
Katsunishiki was definitely closer.  
  
"Defend myself?"  
  
"Defend yourself!"  
  
"Argh!" Ryouga twisted his hips, bracing to meet Katsunishiki's charge, but the wily pig was prepared; the charge had been a feint after all. But it had brought him to one side of Ryouga, and with a quick butt of the massive porcine head, Ryouga found himself knocked off his feet.  
  
"All right, if that's the way you wanna play it...." Ryouga was trying to focus, to bring to bear his rage, but he felt hollow inside. He had spent too much of himself these last few weeks, he could summon no confidence in himself. And any attack would have been useless anyway, as Akari had come up to him, grabbing him in a hug.   
  
"Oh, husband, do not strain yourself. I just needed a sign, and that was it. You have exhausted yourself; do not worry. Come, let us go to bed."  
  
- * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - *  
  
Ryouga felt warm. 'Ah, blessed sunshine,' he thought, remembering with pleasure how the bedroom window faced east, allowing him to wake with the warm sun on those few occasions he could afford to sleep so late.  
  
But then he felt water splashing over him, tingling in a way he had felt only once before, many years past.   
  
A deep masculine, yet oddly sibilant, voice hissed, "So, it is done. You will have one year to try to perfect the art of pig sumo. If your experiment proves... satisfactory... I will unlock his form. If not... I believe your pigs' bloodlines will thank you, and perhaps your sons or your sons' sons will appreciate the benefits of blending martial arts with bestial instincts."  
  
Ryouga could not believe his ears. He recognized that voice. He had last heard it on a mountain top, when he and Ranma and Mousse had fought to unlock their curse, fought the almost invincible dragonlord Herb and his two inhuman companions. He slowly turned his large, porcine eyes to see the other two people in the room.  
  
"Yes, thank you," Akari's voice was soft. "Please... go now. I must talk with my husband."  
  
"Very well..." Ryouga felt the reptilian presence withdraw, giving him some comfort that he was not about to face an alien martial artist out to revenge some slight, while Ryouga was trapped as a small pig.  
  
"Husband. Ryouga. You're probably going to be very mad at me. And I deserve that. But this is the only way that I can see. We need a new generation of pigs, with a bloodline even better than Katsunishiki's if we're going to remain champions against all of our rivals, and we can't afford the breeder's fees. That nice Chinese gentleman's coming by was a clear indication from the heavens, I thought; and to be sure, I tested you against Katsunishiki. The gods interceded in that fight; that's the only way you could have lost, my dear, beloved husband! We can perfect the Unryuu artform, we can make a mark to shine in the history of pig raising that will last for centuries. Please, please, for me..."  
  
Ryouga felt her pick him up by the scruff of the neck and leave their bedroom, leave their house and head for the pens. He felt the helplessness of his form, but even more, the helplessness of his self against his love for Akari. He would do it! He would do anything for Akari!   
  
He kept repeating his determination to himself, as a mantra, as he was lowered into a pen, where the first of the Unryuu sows waited. As he moved towards her, stubbornly determined to begin his Herculean task, he could hear Akari speaking, as she watched. "My darling pig. Ryouga, my darling, darling pig."  
  
Author's notes: OK, this little spamfic came floating out of an irc discussion from yesterday. I pounded it out in just a few hours, so I'm sure it could use some C&C. 


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